Gross Says Bond Bull Market Probably Ended April 29

By John Detrixhe -
May 16, 2013

Pacific Investment Management Co.’s
Bill Gross said the end of the 30-year rally in U.S. bonds is
unlikely to be reminiscent of the drop in 1994, when the Federal
Reserve raised interest rates more than forecast.

Markets are entering “a 12-month period of time ahead in
which, combined, Treasury, corporate and high yields don’t move
much,” Gross, co-founder and co-chief investment officer of
Newport Beach, California-based Pimco, said in a Bloomberg
Television interview with Erik Schatzker and Sara Eisen.

The manager of the world’s biggest bond fund said last week
that the bull market for bonds probably ended at the end of
April as yields reached a low and prices peaked. Gross, who was
named fixed-income manager of the decade in January 2010 by
Morningstar Inc. (MORN), said May 10 that fixed-income returns will
probably be in the range of 2 percent to 3 percent.

U.S. Treasuries lost 3.35 percent in 1994 as then-Fed
Chairman Alan Greenspan surprised the market by doubling
benchmark lending rates to 6 percent in 12 months.

“The Fed doesn’t dare move in 200 basis point
increments,” Gross said. “Perhaps 25 in 2016. That type of
market in our way of thinking is not in store for us.”

The Fed has sought to drive down unemployment by keeping
its target rate for overnight loans between banks between zero
and 0.25 percent since December 2008 and purchasing securities
in monetary policy known as quantitative easing. The Bank of
Japan has pledged to double monthly bond purchases and buy
longer-term debt to reach a 2 percent annual inflation goal.

‘Bubbles Everywhere’

Most Fed officials don’t anticipate raising the benchmark
rate until 2015, according to their estimates provided with
forecasts released after their March 19-20 meeting.

“We see bubbles everywhere,” Gross said. “As long as the
Fed, and the Bank of Japan and other central banks keep writing
checks and don’t withdraw, then the bubble can be supported.”

The yield on Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s U.S. Broad
Market Index, which includes Treasuries, corporate debt and
mortgage bonds, fell below 1.58 percent on April 29. Yields on
10-year U.S. Treasury notes fell to 1.61 percent on May 1, the
least since December. The yield dropped to a record low of 1.38
percent in July 2012 and declined about 6 basis points, or 0.06
percentage point, to 1.88 percent today.

Treasuries posted an annual loss of 3.35 percent in 1994,
the worst performance until the 3.72 percent drop in 2009,
according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Treasury Master
index. The index is down 0.3 percent this year.

The $292.9 billion Total Return Fund (PTTRX) managed by Gross
returned 6.3 percent over the past year, beating 90 percent of
its peers, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It has lost
0.4 percent in the past month.